


Absolution

by Mozanii



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Angst, Cheating, Established Relationship, Infidelity, M/M, hella dialogue but also hella angst, is it relatable? i guess so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-20
Updated: 2015-05-22
Packaged: 2018-03-31 09:34:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3973039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mozanii/pseuds/Mozanii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aomine's past behaviors bring about constant reminders for Kagami about his partner's infidelity in their mostly long-distance relationship. Can Kagami find it in his heart to forgive Aomine for his past wrongdoings or will he leave him behind for somebody new?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. home

“Ugh, I can’t wait to go bed and take a nap. I’m so tired… “Aomine yawns into his computer screen. 

“Is that all you think about, Aomine? Eating, sleeping, and basketball? How could you be thinking about sleeping when I’m coming back tomorrow? You’re supposed to be enjoying your webcam time with me right now!” Kagami asks incredulously. 

“Hey! I haven’t forgotten! I just need my energy saved up, obviously. I can’t wait.” Aomine responds with a smirk, causing an eyebrow raise by Kagami.

“Oh, I forgot to add sex to the list of your hobbies.” Kagami sighs, making Aomine laugh a little.

“Ha, that might even come before basketball in my list of favorite things to do.” He continues before he looks up to see Kagami staring at him with a straight face. 

“Huh? What did I say? Why are you looking at me like that?” Aomine asks confusedly. 

“Aomine, I have no reason to worry when I come back, right? You miss me as much as I miss you?” 

Aomine paused for a moment in silence before replying. “What are you implying, Bakagami?”

“Don’t play dumb, Aomine! You know what happened last time we were separated for a couple of months for the NBA season…” Kagami trailed off, taking a pause before he got too upset.

“I thought we agreed to not bring that up anymore? Damn, I’ll be dead before you ever let that go.” Aomine says as he rolls his eyes.

“Let it go? Aomine, you _cheated_ on me with a woman in the house we both _share_! To make it worse, you didn’t even tell me, I had to find out for myself! And don't roll your eyes at me! If we switched places, then you’d –“Kagami gets interrupted by an angry Aomine.

“– then you’d know how I feel _blah blah_. Shut up about it already, Kagami! I already apologized thousands and thousands of times, but you keep bringing up shit that’s old. It was a mistake, I know that already and I told you it would never happen again. Why don’t you believe me? Why don’t you trust me? It happened so long ago that it doesn’t even matter anymore. ” 

“Long ago? Aomine, it was _three_ months ago! I _trusted_ you and look where that got me!” Kagami raised his voice a little too much, causing Aomine to pause once again and the two stared at each other in silence.

“Please, Kagami…I know I fucked up big time with that, but I’m telling you, I never want to hurt you like that again. I love you so much and it hurts to know that you don’t trust me anymore over some dumb mistake I made on a whim. Please just…come home to me.” Aomine pleaded genuinely.

“Dummy, you know I’ll always come home to you.” Kagami smiles at him, which reassures Aomine enough that it also brings a smile on his face too. 

“Kagami…”

“Go to bed, Aomine. When you wake up, I’ll be back in your arms again. I love you and goodnight.” Kagami waves to him over his webcam and signs off, leaving Aomine alone to contemplate what just happened. He sighs and runs his fingers through his hair before getting up to collapse on top of his bed.

\----------------  
__

_Text Message Received from Kagami: I'm on the plane now, I'll be back home soon!_

_Text Message Received from Aomine: I can't wait. Fly safe._   



	2. confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagami reaches his tipping point.

_Beep….beep…beep…_

Aomine groaned in annoyance at his alarm going off on his phone. _Wait, what?_ Aomine Daiki doesn’t set alarms. Rubbing his eyes and stretching, he was quickly blinded by someone opening up his bedroom blinds, letting the bright morning sun shine in his eyes.

“What the hell?” Aomine scowls blocking his eyes with his forearms. 

“Wake up and greet me already, damn it!” Kagami says as he laughs a little. 

“Kagami!? Why didn’t you wake me up when you came home? When did you get here? How did you even get in? What’s that smell?” The blue haired boy jumps out of bed and quickly pulls him into a tight hug.

Wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s neck, Kagami laughs at his quick change of emotion. “Whoa, Aomine! One question at a time!” 

“I missed you so much, dummy.” Aomine says burrowing his face further into Kagami’s shoulder.

“How are you going to call the person making you a breakfast names? How mean!” He teased. 

“You’re making me breakfast in my own apartment? Wow, I must be one lucky guy…” Aomine teases him back.

“Are you just realizing this now? Plus, you barely had enough groceries to make a decent meal.” He jokes back, and Aomine laughs along, but the two can’t help but feel a little tension in the air. A thin silence fills the room until Aomine decides to address the elephant in the room and pulls away from Kagami’s embrace. 

“Listen, Kagami…about yesterday…” He trails off.

“I’m sorry; I was a little intense yesterday. It really came out of nowhere and I didn’t mean to bring it up again after we put it behind us.” Kagami apologizes softly.

“Well for you to have that reaction, it must still be bothering you.” Aomine inquires.

Looking down at the floor, Kagami apologizes once again. “…Sorry.” 

“Hey, it’s already forgotten. Let me make it up to you.” Aomine gleams at the redhead.

“What do you have planned now?”

“You and I. A night out on the town. I already made reservations at some fancy new restaurant that just opened up downtown!” Aomine smiles at Kagami’s growing surprised expression. 

“You did all of that for me?” Kagami smiles gently at him, eyes glowing warmly with love. 

“Well don’t get used to it!” Aomine quickly defends with a smile. 

Kagami captures Aomine in a swift, passionate kiss. “Haha, dumb Aho. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Kagami. Welcome home.”  
\-------------------------------------------------

**At the restaurant**

After Aomine and Kagami arrived at the restaurant, Kagami took a moment to admire the scenery. Each table was laced with satin tablecloths, a flower bouquet centerpiece, and a live string orchestra was playing lightly in the background. Most importantly, there were no cashiers asking if they would like to try the new combo meal.

“Wow Aomine, this is a real big step up from the usual date at Maji Burger!” Kagami joked around, as he glanced at the menu. 

“You’re telling me…look at these prices… I didn’t know it was going to be like this!” Aomine comments feeling his wallet get lighter as he flips through the menu pages. “But hey, it’s your day. Get whatever you want.” 

Kagami glances up from his menu to see his boyfriend’s usual brow furrow grow deeper by the minute, but despite how he looks, he can’t help but fall deeper in love with him by the day. It must be a face only he could love.

“Listen, Aomine. I’ve been thinking…” Kagami starts.

“Thinking about what?” He responds.

“Well…I was thinking that maybe we should finally mo—“Kagami gets interrupted by their waitress approaching their table with a gallant stride. 

Kagami can’t help but look at her. After all, she had long, flowing pink hair and bright blue eyes that matched a cloudless sky. She was very beautiful; he would admit that, but maybe a little too beautiful. He quickly took a glance over at Aomine who was staring at her with a devious-looking smirk on his face. It may have been a natural reaction for the blue haired man, but it pissed Kagami off to no end. 

“Hello! Welcome to our grand opening! Could I start you off with some drinks?” The waitress smiled at them both, with a light pink blush staining her cheeks.

“What kind of drinks do you –“Aomine was interrupted by the man sitting across from him.

“Two waters are just fine.” Kagami says quickly, closing his menu. 

“Oh…alright. Two waters it is. Is there anything else I can get you in the meantime?” She asks a little uneasy.

“Your name.” Aomine responds with his smirk still plastered on his face. Kagami looks at him incredulously, with his mouth slightly agape. 

“Huh?” She asks confusedly. 

“Your name. What’s your name? I don’t want to just call you waitress.” Aomine replies.

“Uh, my apologies for being so rude. My name is Haruka.” She smiles at Aomine back.

“That’s all for now, Haruka. Thanks.” Kagami quickly interjects. And with that, she gathers their menus and scurries off into the kitchen.

A long, awkward silence fills the table once again. Aomine looks at Kagami, who currently has his eyes closed and his arms crossed with a pissed off expression.

“What’s wrong with you, Kagami?” Aomine questions. 

Kagami angrily opens his eyes to look at Aomine looking at him across the table, and who also, in his opinion, is looking quite dumb with his confused expression on his face.  
“What the hell was that, Aomine?” 

“The hell was what?” Aomine responds defensively.

Aomine’s response only pisses Kagami off even more. “That! You were flirting with that waitress just now… in front of me! I can’t even believe you right now.” 

“ _Huh?_ How was that flirting? Me asking her name? You’re being ridiculous right now and you’re ruining our good time.” 

“I was having a good time until I saw you eyeing her up and down like you wanted her. What the hell, Aomine… we just got finished talking about this…” Kagami says angrily.

Aomine prepared to respond, but Haruka came back with their cups of water. While Kagami orders their food, Aomine looks down avoiding her gaze. She leaves as fast as she came, but they both sat in silence, contemplating their thoughts over the current situation. 

After about twenty minutes of pure silence and awkward exchanges of angry glances, Haruka brings out their food and they continue eating in silence. When the bill comes, Aomine quickly throws down two $100 bills.

As Aomine and Kagami stand up to leave, Haruka comes by the table once more to collect the money. “Wow, you threw out those bills like it was nothing!” She says with amazement. 

“Yeah, it kind of is. Keep the tip.” He responds back, looking anywhere but her face as he could feel Kagami’s gaze lasering through his soul. Aomine knows if he looks at her face, he’ll be pulled in again. 

“But sir, the tip would be over $80! I can’t possibly accept that much…I’m only doing my job.” She says as she grabs his arm, which of course, catches Kagami’s attention. 

Aomine shrugs it off, trying to make Kagami as least suspicious as possible. “I’m telling you, its fine. Go take somebody out for a nice date.” 

“How about I take you out? What do you say? Here, let me give you my number!” She says pulling out a pen to write it down, as Kagami looks at this whole situation with pure astonishment. 

Picture this. Here he is, thinking he would go on a first date with his boyfriend in months as an apology for his past wrongdoings to rekindle the romance they once had. Now, here he is, watching as a random girl they just met is openly flirting with his boyfriend in front of him and watching him reciprocate it.

Cold sweat pooled down Aomine’s back as he knew he was in deep trouble. “Listen, I really can’t –“ 

“You can’t what? Am I not pretty enough for you to take out?” She pouts. She looks cute when she pouts, but too cute, and Kagami hates her for this.

“No it’s not that, I just –“ Aomine starts, but when he feels the presence that was once standing behind him fade away, he turns around to see Kagami heading out the door.

Aomine runs full speed after him, shouting his name along the way, but Kagami only walks faster away from him.

“Kagami, where are you going?”

“Where does it look like, Aomine? I’m going home.” He responds flatly and opens up the driver’s side of the door only. After all, he did drive them there. 

“Why are you mad at me? Because a girl gave me her number? I can’t help that she’s attracted to me! I even told her I didn't want it.” Aomine says defensively. 

“Aomine. This date was supposed to be about us, but it seems like you were worried about everything else except for us! What the actual fuck was _that_? You openly flirted with her in front of me and you act like you’re mad that I got mad? I can’t believe this.” Kagami says as his voice grows a little louder.

“It was about us!”

Kagami scoffs at his attempts to defend himself. “Yeah okay, and that’s why you were eyeing her like that and asking for her name? Plus, you know you’re definitely not compatible because she doesn’t watch basketball enough to know when two star NBA players are sitting in front of her and tipping that much.” 

“No one’s asking her to be compatible with me, Kagami! You’re pissing me off.” Aomine scowls. 

“I’m pissing _you_ off?” Kagami bursts into a fit of bitter laughter. 

“After all this time we’ve been together…you still act like you can’t trust me.” Aomine says with hurt laced in his words. 

“You’re right, Aomine. I can’t trust you. That’s why I think we should break up. That way, you’re free to flirt with whoever you want and it’ll save me the heartbreak.” Kagami says stoically. 

Disbelieving, Aomine approaches the car and pulls on the passenger door handle. “Come on, Kagami. You don’t mean that. I know you’re upset but you said you’d give me another chance and forget what happened in the past! I've told you a million times she doesn't mean anything to me and that I loved you!” 

“I know I said I would try, but I just can’t! It haunts me every day. Every time I look at you, I just think about you touching all up on some random girl while I’m away. Every time I close my eyes in my apartment, I think about who you could be talking to. Who could you be touching right now? You don’t understand Aomine because I would never do something that dirty to you. You say you love me, but those are just words and you don’t show it in action.” Kagami voice tears with emotion.

“Kagami…” 

“It’s _bullshit_ , Aomine!” Kagami yells with single tears running down from both his eyes. 

“Kagami, look…I’m sorry. Just let me fix this. Let me fix us…” Aomine pleads. 

Kagami pauses for a brief moment of silence, but then Aomine hears Kagami turn his engine on. “I can’t… not anymore. I’m sorry, Aomine.”

\-----------------------

_Text Message Received from Aomine: Kagami, please. Can we just talk about this? Call Me._   
_Text Message Received from Aomine: Still waiting for that call, Kagami._   
_Text Message Received from Aomine: Kagami please, I'm sorry._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, sorry. I spilled my bottle of angsty drama all over this chapter. A little OOC maybe? Anyway, I needed it for the plot. Is Kagami overreacting? Maybe. xoxo


	3. another

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aomine meets up with kuroko at maji burger and more antics ensue~~~

“–And then he broke up with me in the parking lot and I had to walk home! Can you believe this, Tetsu?” Aomine asked, annoyance clearly present in his voice. However, when Tetsu merely stared at him in response, it only made him more irritated. “What? What do you have to say?” 

“Aomine-kun, Kagami broke up with you _two weeks_ ago.” Kuroko started.

“Yeah, I know. I’m just not over it…” Aomine says laying his head on the table. Why did he invite Kuroko to Maji Burger anyway? This place was just filled with memories for him.

“Clearly.” Kuroko answers before taking another sip of his milkshake.

“ _Gee_ , thanks Tetsu. Thanks for all your love and support.” Aomine says with his head still laid flat against the table.

“What would you like me to do, Aomine-kun? And please get your head off the dirty table.”

Aomine reluctantly does as he’s told, but his expression lights up when he thinks of something. “Tell me your opinion! You’re friends with Kagami too, has he talked about me lately?” 

Aomine notices as Kuroko cringes slightly. “Don’t tell me you’re thinking of asking him to get back together with you…” 

“What’s with that reaction? Do you know something I don’t?” He inquires, but is only met with more silence. “Tetsu…tell me.”

“Sorry, Aomine-kun, but I’m not sure if this information is what Kagami would like to be released to you.”

“Damn it, Tetsu. At least tell me…do you think I’m in the wrong?” Aomine asks genuinely. 

“Honestly, yes. You say that Kagami was overreacting, but it was only natural given the previous circumstances. You have been unfaithful to him many times.” Kuroko says concerned.

“Many times? I only cheated on him _once_!” Aomine defends.

Kuroko rolls his eyes at his simple-minded friend. “Yes, one time too many. Not only that, but Kagami has told me numerous times that he has caught you eyeing other girls when you’re together. It only makes it worse that you’re two men in a relationship, so when you’re together, most girls would assume that you’re just friends unless you say otherwise.” 

“I can’t help that my eyes wander sometimes, Tetsu. I’m only human.” Kuroko can tell that Aomine is starting to become more emotional, so he decides to wrap up the subject.

“Aomine-kun, I can’t tell you what to do with your relationship with Kagami-kun. I just want you to take into consideration what Kagami feels. How would you feel if he were to cheat on you with another person?” 

Aomine responds plainly, “I’d kill the bastard.” 

“Yes, exactly. You can’t exactly blame Kagami for not trusting you. But…if you really want him back, just prove to him you’re serious and you’re not just all talk. And do it soon, today might be your last chance. ” Kuroko says as he stands up to throw his empty cup in the trash. 

Aomine quickly gathers his trash and follows Kuroko out the door, “Yeah okay, how soon is soon? And what do you mean by–“ 

“Why, hello Kagami-kun.” Kuroko says plainly as he greets the redhead outside the door of Maji Burger.

“Kuroko? Why are you leaving? You told me to meet you before I…..” Kagami trails off as he notices Aomine standing behind Kuroko. 

“Kagami…” Aomine’s eyes widen with absolute surprise. With that, Kuroko quietly uses his lack of presence to escape from the situation and to mildly jog down the street to leave the two alone.

“Damn that Kuroko…tricking me…” Kagami curses at himself. 

“Kuroko asked you to come here?” 

Kagami folds his arms, not only at the question, but also at Aomine himself. “He did, but anyway, this is my hangout spot so I can be here if I want to be. Plus, I'm leaving soon anyway. What are you doing here?” 

“Tetsu and I were just meeting here.”

“What were you two talking about?” Kagami questions.

Aomine looks away at the question. “…Nothing.” 

“Well alright, if you say so. Now, if you don’t mind, I –“Kagami gets interrupted by Aomine’s slightly loud whispers.

“Why haven’t you been answering my phone calls or text messages, Kagami?” Aomine asks obviously hurt. 

Kagami looks at him wildly, “I have no obligation to do anything for you anymore, Aomine!” 

“But I want to talk about what happened that night!” Aomine defends.

“There’s nothing to talk about, Aomine. Now if you excuse me, I have someone to meet in a few minutes.”

“Huh? Someone to meet?” Kagami only nods in response to his questions and attempts to push past him.

“Meet as in… date-type meet?” 

“Aomine, what the hell? I don’t have to tell you my business anymore! I can meet whoever I want to meet with!” Kagami shoves Aomine away, making him wince slightly.

“Who is this bastard, I’m gonna kill them! “

“No you’re not, because you’re gonna stop following me right now.” Kagami demands.

Aomine retracts his body from being near the redhead and pauses in his movement. “Kagami...how are you going to meet somebody else only two weeks after we broke up? We’ve been together for years and I would expect you to be a little bit more upset than that!” 

“Yeah, it must suck to expect something from someone you love and to be let down. It hurts right?” Aomine can only wince at his hurtful words. Were they true? Of course they were. Did he expect it to come from Kagami’s mouth? Of course not. Kagami turns away from Aomine and throws his hand up in the air before beginning to walk towards his new destination. 

Crowds of people passed by Aomine’s still-standing figure in the middle of the sidewalk. On the outside, he could hear the chatter of the people around him, but on the inside, Kagami’s words resonated in his mind. 

Crowds of people passed by and made remarks about how attractive and tall Aomine was. But, Aomine could only look at Kagami’s figure grow increasingly smaller as he walked to meet his potential new lover and out of his life forever. 

“Ahh! It’s starting to rain! I didn’t bring my umbrella!” A girl complains as she walks by Aomine, but he only snaps out of his daze when he feels raindrops start to fall on his face. 

As the rain began to come down harder, Aomine merely sat on a nearby bench. Although his clothes were wet and he would probably get sick later, Aomine didn’t mind. He silently thanked the heavens that people couldn’t differentiate between the raindrops and tears running down his face.

\----------------

_Text Message Received from Tetsu: Aomine-kun, how did it go?_   
_Text Message Received from Aomine-kun: I fucked up._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote two chapters in one night? I had ideas in my head and wanted to get them out asap~~  
> sorry for the sad!!!


	4. torn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aomine gets a surprise visitor!!

_Draft Saved [6:46 pm]: Don’t do this, Kagami. I still love you._

\-----------------------------------------

After sulking on the bench for an hour or two collecting his thoughts, Aomine finally picked his body up and walked back towards his apartment complex. His damn phone kept ringing the whole time he was walking there, but he knew it wasn’t who he wanted it to be. After the fifth consecutive call, Aomine had enough.

Aomine quickly dug through his jacket pocket and threw his phone against the hard concrete pavement out of pure rage. Instantly, he of course, regretted his choice. “Damn it…” He cursed under his breath, but what did it matter anyway? He didn’t feel like talking to anyone anyway.

When he finally arrived at his apartment, he shut the door behind him, and suddenly he realized that it was eerily quiet. Well actually, his apartment is always quiet when he comes back to it, but there was just something different this time. Aomine knows Kagami won’t be walking through his door, making a bunch of commotion, calling him an idiot, and shouting him to come play a game of basketball with him.

Out of everything he could possibly do, Aomine decided his best course of action was to talk to himself to make himself feel better about it, obviously. 

“Who needs that dumb red-headed idiot anyway?” Aomine says to himself as he heads towards his room. “I definitely don’t…” he says to himself as he throws his rain-drenched body on his bed. 

Suddenly, Aomine has the brilliant idea to get rid of Kagami from his thoughts by completely eradicating his existence from his apartment. He jumped up and started looking around his room for anything that even slightly reminded him of Kagami. 

That photo of he and Kagami on his nightstand? _Gone_. The Christmas present gave him last year? _Gone_. Aomine smirked to himself and thought this was his best idea yet as he rummaged through his belongings in his closet and ripped them apart to throw in the trash.

Aomine began to feel better as he felt like he was getting some twisted version of revenge on Kagami, but all that came to a screeching halt when he saw Kagami’s Seirin team jacket hanging in his closet.  
“What the hell? I forgot I had this…” Aomine says to himself as he takes it off the hanger and analyzes it. Kagami and Aomine had exchanged team jackets when they both graduated high school as good luck charms for the upcoming NBA draft.

He could still picture Kagami’s gleaming smile when he rushed over his house, wearing his Touou jacket, and screaming that he had gotten drafted. Worst of all, he could still see Kagami’s pure smile when he told him that he had gotten drafted too. 

The lifestyle that they both had now? It would be completely impossible for him to have even tried out for the professional league without Kagami. He thought about quitting basketball many, many times as his love for the game just seemed to dissipate with every passing day.

Then, he appeared, lighting his passion for the game once again as he found a new rival. A rival who brought out the best in him, as well as his lost love for the game. The same rival who pointed him out, in front everyone in the stands, when Seirin won the Winter Cup. The same rival that comes over to cook whenever he calls him, complaining that he’s hungry and doesn’t feel like going out and getting food. The same rival whose dumb face is etched on the inside of his eyelids, so every time he closes his eyes to sleep, he can’t help but think about him.

Unforgettable memories with an unforgettable person. And that is just what Kagami is to Aomine, and no random man or woman in the world could replace him in his heart.

“I swear I’m the biggest idiot in the world.”

“Finally, you admit it.” A familiar voice behind him says, causing Aomine to whip his body around to see who is in his apartment.

“Kagami? What are you doing here? How did you even get in here?” Aomine says surprised, and to be honest, a little excited.

“I have a key to your apartment remember, Aho? Anyway, I called you like five times earlier, but you never answered me.”

“Oh…my phones broken.” Aomine says shifting his eyes.

“Oh, well….I decided to just stop by to come give you your stuff back. I figured you would want it back.” Kagami starts.

“So…you really have moved on, huh?” Aomine says bitterly.

“What are you talking about?” Kagami questions.

“Heh, I can’t believe you have the nerve to come back to give me my stuff after your date with your precious rebound. It must’ve gone really well then. So who is he…or she?” Aomine demands angrily.

“Huh, date? What are you –“Kagami gets interrupted when Aomine throws Kagami’s jacket at his face.

“After years of dating, you already have somebody new after just two weeks of being broken up? You were probably seeing them on the side and using the waitress as an excuse to break up with me so you can be with them! If you didn’t want to be with me, then you could’ve just told me so.” Aomine yells.

Kagami snaps, and shoves Aomine. “My hypothetical “date” was with Kiyoshi and the others guys from Seirin having a mini-team reunion since I came back from the league.” Aomine shuts up.

“I’m not dating anyone right now, Aomine. Including you. You cheat on me and flirt with other women in front of me, then have the nerve to accuse me of stepping out on you. You have some nerve. Plus, if I wanted to date somebody else, it’s exactly 0% of your business, so get out of mine!” Kagami yells. 

“I’m sorry that I jumped to conclusion, Kagami, but –“

“Save it, Aomine. If anyone here has the right to be skeptical, it’s me. I can’t believe I ever wasted my time on an asshole like you. Here take your shit, I’m leaving.” 

Aomine rushed to catch Kagami as he was walking out the door. “Wait, Kagami. I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions like that, but honestly I’m still really upset about what happened.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m the biggest idiot in the world, I know. I’m the biggest asshole in the world, I know. But Kagami, you are the most important person in the world to me. I know I may not show it often, but you really are. I still love you, Kagami.”

“Stop _fucking with me_ , Aomine! How many times are you going to drag me back in until you’re satisfied?” Kagami says as he pulls away from Aomine’s grasp.

“Kagami, please. Don’t throw away all these years we’ve had together. I need you way more than you need me, but still…” Aomine pleaded. Sure, he was a little embarrassed to say such things out loud, but right now, he couldn’t afford to lose the person most important to him. 

Kagami stood with his hand on the doorknob, completely stunned. His back was turned towards Aomine, but he could tell that he completely distraught by the pure, raw emotion present in his voice. He turned around slowly to look at the man standing in front of him, his eyes red, and his skin stained with single trails of tears that were no longer there.

The scene completely tore Kagami’s heart to pieces. 

“I know I don’t deserve you and all that you do for me, but you light me up like nobody else can. You rekindled my passion for playing the game that I love the most. You stood by me during the most important years of my life, Kagami. I can’t imagine living without you by my side along the way.” Aomine confesses. 

“Aomine, where is this coming from?”

“I’ve always felt this way, Kagami. Will you take me back?” 

"I'm sorry, Aomine. I just can't."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry again. i wrote this while listening to the sekaiichi hatsukoi soundtrack .


	5. relapse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> late night basketball sessions. what else can i say?

_Draft Saved [8:51 pm]: I shouldn’t have left you there by yourself, Aomine. I’m so sorry._

\----------------------------------------------

Kagami propped his feet up on his table and turned on the TV to watch his daily dose of ESPN. Usually, he and Aomine would spend their nights together watching the latest basketball games and eating whatever he had cooked. But it has been over one month since they had last spoken at his apartment. Sometimes, Kagami would be tempted to dial his number in his cell phone, but after minutes of contemplation, he decided it would just be easier to scroll past it.

It was hard not having anyone to talk to so suddenly. Not just for basketball purposes, but Kagami missed the idea of having a potential life partner. After all, he never even changed his wallpaper that he had of the two of them on his phone. At some point, he used to look at the picture to give him motivation before his professional games, since Aomine usually couldn’t be there physically. But now, it just served as a painful reminder of what once was. But yet, he couldn’t bear to change it for the fear of it being the final nail in the coffin. 

“Ugh, you’re turning soft, Kagami.” he says to himself, burrowing his face into the pillows on his couch. After a few minutes, he decided to clear his head the best way he knew how. By going to the local basketball court.

\----------------------------------------

Kagami pulled his car into a nearby parking spot and grabbed his basketball from his passenger seat. He walked down the sidewalk to enter through the fenced area, only to see someone already playing basketball there. Who would be playing basketball by themselves at 11:00 at night?

Kagami is stunned by the mystery man’s playing style. His moves, so swift and flowing, yet beautiful in a way, he knew he had to be a veteran player. Suddenly, he realized he was staring when the man in the shadows stops what he’s doing and turns towards his direction. “Uh…hey man, sorry for interrupting you. I’ll go to the next court over.” Kagami says as he turns to leave.

“Kagami? Is that you?” The mysterious man says running up to him. Kagami’s eyes grow in surprise. After all, he knew that voice the best out of anyone.

“Aomine? What the hell are you doing here so late at night?” Kagami questioned.

Aomine merely shrugged, “I come here multiple times a week! Plus, I could say the same for you.” 

“Oh. Well I’m leaving, see you around.” Kagami says as he turns to leave once again.

“When?” Aomine says as he grabs Kagami’s wrist.

Kagami attempts to pull away, but Aomine’s grip only tightens. “What do you mean? And let go of me!”

“When will I see you again?” Aomine frowns.

“It’s just a saying Aomine, let me go!” Kagami says as he finally pulls his wrist away.

“Kagami, I haven’t seen you in what seems like forever. You can’t leave now, you just got here.” Aomine says looking down at the pavement.

“I suddenly don’t feel like playing anymore. So I’ll see you around.”

“If you insist. Well hey, before you go, can I at least use your cell phone to call a cab to pick me up? I want to get dinner before I go home and my new phone is dead. ” Aomine asks.

“Yeah sure.” Kagami nonchalantly digs in his pocket and hands him the phone. He dribbles the ball to pass the time until Aomine lets out a somewhat loud shout.

“Huh!? What is this, Kagami?” Aomine says wide-eyed. 

“What are you talking about now, Aomine? If you’re not going to use it then just –“ Kagami nearly throws up his dinner. He completely forgot he never changed the wallpaper he had of the two of them together.

“It…it’s not what you think, Aomine! Give it back!” Kagami stutters, a dark red blush staining his cheeks. 

“It’s not what I think? It looks like exactly what I think!” Aomine says with a little smirk plastered on his face and waving the phone around in the air. 

“Wipe that damn smirk off your face! I just… haven’t gotten around to changing it yet.” Kagami says avoiding his gaze.

Aomine scoffs at Kagami’s face. “Ha, if it’s not what I think, then why are you blushing, Kagami?” 

“Shut up! I’m leaving!” Kagami says, snatching the phone from Aomine’s palms and powerwalking to his car. 

“Kagami, wait!” Aomine shouts, and to his surprise, Kagami actually listens. He turns towards Aomine and waits for him to continue.

“You can’t leave so soon, Kagami. I haven’t seen you in a long time. I miss you, Kagami.” Aomine says genuinely. Kagami keeps his head lowered to the ground to avoid his gaze further. “Well I didn’t miss you.”

“Can you honestly tell me with that wallpaper you haven’t? Look me in my eyes and tell me you don’t love me anymore, and I swear I will never bother you again after this.” Aomine says as he approaches closer to Kagami.

Kagami continues to stare at the road beneath him, but he can tell that Aomine is standing close to him. 

“Kagami…just tell me.” 

“Damn it, I can’t say that, Aomine! Dumb aho…” Kagami says as his blush grows deeper. Aomine steps closer to Kagami until they’re only inches apart and Kagami is now pressed against the door of his car, sandwiched between the two. 

“Even through all of this, I still love you, Kagami. I’ll always love you.” Aomine’s voice whispers low into Kagami’s ear. At this point, Aomine is so close to Kagami, he can probably feel his body warming to near high temperatures and his heart racing a million miles an hour.

“Kagami, look at me.” Aomine says, gently pulling Kagami’s face up from staring at the ground until they’re staring eye-to-eye. Kagami hasn’t seen Aomine in so long, he almost forgot just how handsome he actually was. His beauty was only accentuated by the glow of the late night moon reflecting off of his features. He was falling for him faster than ever before. 

“You’re irreplaceable.” Aomine admits, inching closer to Kagami’s face by the second. Those few seconds, which seem like hours to Kagami, abruptly ended when Kagami felt Aomine’s lips on his. A kiss, so full of passion, his whole body feels like it’s on fire. Kagami can feel Aomine’s arms wrap around his waist, and he’s so enveloped by the kiss, he can’t help but wrap his arms around his neck, pulling him in closer.

Aomine broke the kiss briefly, leaning his forehead against Kagami’s. “Hey, can I come over tonight?” 

Kagami is about to respond when a faint buzzing in his pocket snaps him back to reality. Then, of course, Kagami is consumed in pure panic and fear as he realizes what he had just done. 

“Sorry Aomine, I really have to go.” Kagami says fidgeting so hard, he drops his keys on the ground. 

“But what about –“

“It was a mistake, Aomine. Let’s pretend this never happened.” Kagami says as he quickly unlocks his car door and jumps inside. 

“Kagami, you can’t leave. Not now…” Aomine pleads.

“I have to go, Aomine.” Kagami says starting his engine up.

“Okay, but before you, I have to tell you. Tomorrow, I’m leaving to go to basketball training and my flight leaves at –“ Aomine starts but is interrupted by Kagami putting the car in reverse. 

“Train hard, Aomine. Best of luck, I’ll see you later.” Kagami says once more before backing up, then driving off into the distance.  
\---------------------------  
_Text Message Received from Kuroko: How was your late night basketball trip, Kagami kun?_  
_Text Message Received from Kagami-kun: Remind me to never go to that basketball court ever again. Also, you have great timing._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a light at the end of the tunnel maybe?  
> im updating too fast bc im on break lmao :^)


	6. return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> feels, man.

Kagami opened his apartment door and quickly locked it closed. He could only sigh as he slid down to the floor, back sliding down the door and his face in his palms. He felt like he did a damn walk of shame. He was so disappointed in himself for falling for Aomine’s suave charms and returning his kiss. _Hell_ , he almost slept with him.

“Damn…I just need to take a cold shower.” Kagami says with his palms gripping the top of his forehead. Suddenly, Kagami jumps at the sudden vibration in his pocket.

Kagami quickly presses the home button on his phone to see who was messaging him, and who other than Aomine.

_Text Received from Aomine: 1:00 pm, tomorrow. Gate A-121._

Kagami throws body fully spread on the floor in defeat. “No one said I was fucking coming! That cocky bastard!” 

\----------------------

The next morning, Kagami can barely make it out of bed. He feels absolutely emotionally and mentally drained and he just can’t take it anymore. He glances at the clock and to his surprise, it’s already noon. 

“Ugh…I never wake up this late.” He says to himself as he reaches for the remote on his nightstand. After he turns on the TV, Kagami absent-mindedly flips through the channels when he sees something that makes his stomach drop.

Kagami’s lips begin to tremble as he reads the news headline out loud, **“Breaking News: Flight 121 in Tokyo International Airport Crashes Shortly After Takeoff.”**

At this point, Kagami can’t even hear himself think. He’s in pure panic mode and he instinctively reaches to call Aomine. _Ring…ring…ring…_

“He’s not answering…” Kagami says to himself, on the verge of tears. He picks up the phone to try and call again, but his fingers are trembling so bad he can barely press the dial button.

_Ring…ring…ring…_

“Damn it!” Kagami curses, throwing his phone on the bed. At this point, involuntary tears are beginning to form in his eyes as his mind is thinking a million thoughts a minute. Despite this, the main recurring thought is, _‘I need to see him.’_

Kagami throws on a jacket, grabs his car keys, and races out of the door towards the airport.

\----------------------

In all honesty, Kagami is surprised he hasn’t gotten pulled over yet for doubling the speed limit, practically ignoring all safety road laws imaginable. To make matters worse, with all the tears clouding his vision, he could barely see as is.

After what seems like hours, Kagami finally arrives at the airport and parks in the nearest possible parking space. He quickly locks his door and sprints towards the entrance of the airport, silently thanking himself for being in top physical shape. Besides, who would’ve thought running like a madman through an airport would bring about suspicion? Certainly not, Kagami.

Kagami practically cursed out the security guards for making him stop and go through the body scanners. He didn’t have time for firearms and weapons. After all, he barely had his shoes on. Kagami didn’t care, he just needed to see _him_. He grabbed his things from the security conveyor belt and ran past the gates. He couldn’t even remember what the exact number was. After all, he only slightly glanced at Aomine’s message and in his panic, he left his phone in the car. 

Kagami scurried past the crowds of people peering out the windows at the current crash scene. He quickly scanned the crowds of people sitting in the seats for signs of his navy-haired ex-lover.  
Kagami whispers to himself as he jogs past the gates at a constant pace, “Gate 100…something…gate 100 something….” He stops to catch his breath for a little, after all, his adrenaline was pumping so hard, he was gonna crash really soon. His legs were definitely gonna feel the burn in the morning.

Kagami leans against the wall of the airport, panting, and trying to breathe was getting harder by the minute. 

Was it because he was running or was it because he was panicking so badly? Was Aomine on that flight that crashed? Would the last words that he said to him before he died be that he didn’t believe in their relationship and he can’t him back? A million questions raced through Kagami’s mind and it only caused his lungs to constrict even more. 

He was thinking, he was gasping, he was lost without him. Kagami broke down in the airport, crying and calling Aomine’s name out on the floor of the airport, knees pulled up to his chest. “Aomine…please…” 

“Kagami, is that you?” a voice calls to him. Kagami looks up from his position, only to see Aomine standing in front of him, looking completely worried.

“Kagami, what’s wrong? I heard you calling my name out and I swear it sounded like you, but I didn’t think you would show –“ Aomine is caught off guard as Kagami stands up and punches him square in the cheek.

“Ow, Kagami! What the hell!? What did I do!?“ Aomine yells, grabbing his injured face.

“That’s for making me worry, you dumb bastard!” Kagami yells , squeezing his eyes shut to avoid further embarrassment. 

“Huh? Worry about what?” 

“I saw the plane crash on the news and I thought that was your flight! It said Flight 121!” Kagami explains.

Aomine returns a confused look, “What are you talking about? I said my gate, was Gate-121! My flight got delayed by the crash…I’m fine.”

Welp, that’s what Kagami gets for not reading carefully enough.

Aomine opens his mouth to retort, but is caught off guard once again, when a pair of strong arms wrap around his waist and he feels Kagami’s head on his shoulder. 

“I hate you so much, Aho.” Kagami says into Aomine’s shoulder. 

“I don’t think the man that rushed all the way over here to check to see if I was okay hates me. The same man that barely put any clothes on because he was so concerned about my safety.” Aomine smirks at him.

Kagami defends himself, “You didn’t answer your phone, what am I supposed to think after I saw that headline? Excuse me for thinking you were dead!” 

“I’ve been in the airport for a while now, of course my phone died by now. I was going to charge it on the plane…” Aomine chuckles.

“…Thank you for coming to see me, Kagami.” Aomine continues as he wraps his arms around Kagami’s neck.

“Whatever! I still hate you.” He says as he squeezes Aomine tighter.

“Well I love you, Taiga.” Aomine gleams at him, smiling the most pure smile Kagami has ever seen.

\----------------------

After causing such a huge uproar in the middle of the airport, Aomine and Kagami finally settled back down in the seats in Aomine’s gate. Aomine casually glanced over at Kagami, who was still wiping any remnants of tears with which he may have embarrassed himself earlier. 

Despite all of this, Aomine could only smile.

“Although I’m glad you came to see me, to be honest Kagami, I thought you wouldn’t be coming after what happened yesterday. I’m sorry about that. I got carried away…” Aomine admits.

“Don’t apologize.” Kagami interjects. 

“I just…I don’t want to force myself on you. If you don’t want this, just tell me. I promise I won’t get mad.” 

“I never said that, Aomine…” Kagami looks away. 

“From the bottom of my heart, Kagami. I’m being completely honest right now…” Aomine grabs Kagami’s hand, causing Kagami took look up at Aomine’s gaze.

“I’m sorry that I was unfaithful in the past. It is one of the most, if not, the biggest mistake of my life. I shouldn’t have hurt you like that and I know you deserve better, better than me. I just want you to be happy and if that means that you’re with somebody else, then so be it…” Aomine paused for a moment to gather his thoughts.

“I know sometimes I act like I don’t care or I act like an asshole, but you see past my flaws and you truly appreciate me being me. To be unconditionally accepted by someone is all that I could ask for in life, and I was a fool to take it for granted. If you choose to be with me again, I just wanted to say that this time it will be different, I promise. I’ve already lost you once and I never want to experience that feeling again. I love you and I’ll always love you for the rest of my life. If I could leave this airport knowing that you’d be happy, that’s all I could ever ask for. So, I’m going to ask you this one final time. Will you take me back?”

Kagami can barely breathe again as he’s overwhelmed by Aomine’s confession. He glances at Aomine’s face, and hope is overflowing in his eyes, but yet filled with patience. He’s never seen him be so honest and genuine, and well damn it, he just wasn’t prepared for it. He knows what he wants to say, but he just can’t force the words to come out of his mouth. 

Aomine sits in silence, waiting for Kagami’s answer when a voice booms over the loudspeaker.

_Gate-121 First Class is Now Boarding_

“Kagami…” Aomine starts, uncertainty dwindling in his voice. Kagami merely darts his eyes the other way, avoiding his gaze. 

Aomine sighs and stands up, gathering his luggage. “I see. Well, I respect your choice Kagami. I’ll see you later.” He’s not going to lie, he feels heartbroken as hell, but he wouldn’t break down in tears in front of Kagami.

“You really fucked up this time, Aomine.” He mutters to himself under his breath, wheeling his luggage to the ticket counter. Aomine hands the flight attendant his ticket, then sullenly steps foot onto jetway. 

“Daiki!” A voice yells from behind him, causing him to turn around. It was Kagami.

“Come home to me, alright! I’ll be waiting for you!” Kagami smiles, exuding such purity, Aomine swore he was an angel in disguise. 

“Dummy, you know I’ll always come home to you.” His smile is returned just as bright. 

\----------------------  
_Text Message Received from Aomine: The plane is about to take off now, I'll call you when I land!_  
_Text Message Received from Kagami: Fly safely, I'll be waiting for your call!_  
_Text Message Received from Aomine: Kagami?_  
_Text Message Received from Kagami: What?_  
_Text Message Received from Aomine: Makeup sex when I get home, right?_  
_Text Message Received from Kagami: I regret this so much already._  
_Text Message Received from Aomine: You don't mean that! I love you, Taiga._  
_Text Message Received from Kagami: I love you too, Daiki._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aomine is my favorite character in knb so of course I can't have him be complete asshole  
> i love him so much i wish him happiness  
> i cranked out this fic faster than expected  
> hope you enjoyed the emotional ride :^)


End file.
